In his book, What's So Amazing About Grace, Phillip Yancey tells the story of Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway grew up in a very devout evangelical family, and yet there he never experienced the grace of Christ. He lived a libertine life that most of us would call "dissolute"... but there was no father, no parent waiting for him and he sank into the mire of a graceless depression.
A short story he wrote perhaps reveals the grace that he hoped for. It is the story of a Spanish father who decided to reconcile with his son who had run away to Madrid. The father, in a moment of remorse, takes out this ad in El Libro , a newspaper. "Paco, meet me at Hotel Montana, Noon, Tuesday... All is forgiven... Papa." When the father arrived at the square in hopes of meeting his son, he found eight hundred Pacoes waiting to be
reunited with their father. Was Paco such a popular name? Or is a father's forgiveness the salve for every soul?
A story like this touches the heart of almost anyone who hears it. Isn't it wonderful to know that we have a heavenly Father who knows and understands that our greatest need is not fame and fortune, but for redemption? It's the message that everyone of wants to hear. Who in your circle of influence will hear that message by the way you live your life today?
